Effect of attitudes toward women and other attitudinal variables on the formation of rape callousness and sexual misconduct among African, European, and Asian-American college students at a prestigious northeastern university: A longitudinal study

Abstract

This study examined how college students' attitudes toward women were related to the formation of rape callousness for African, Asian and European-American men and women and how these attitudes related to men's self-reported sexual misconduct. The study also examined the effects of five additional variables: peer conformity, loyalty, cultural sophistication, kindness and just world beliefs, on the formation of rape callousness in men and women for each ethnic group as well as on men's sexual misconduct in each group. ^ This study was longitudinal in design. The entire entering class was surveyed in 1987. Five hundred and fifty-seven students responded to the study's initial questionnaire with useable sets of data. The same students were contacted four years later, during their senior year of study, to complete a second questionnaire; three hundred and three students responded with useable sets of data. The survey assessed general attitudes and values, as well as attitudes toward women and sexual attitudes and behaviors. ^ Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that male dominance and negative attitudes toward feminism were significantly and positively related to rape callous acceptance for European and Asian-American students. Rape callousness and male dominance had a significant positive relationship with sexual aggression for Asian and European-American men. Such relationships were not found for African-American students. Surprisingly, results revealed a significant negative relationship between peer conformity and rape callousness for European and African-American students, whereas group loyalty showed a significant positive relationship with rape callousness for European-American students. Two-way MANOVA showed demographic differences in terms of gender-role and rape callous attitudes. Repeated measures MANOVA revealed that all men evidenced a decline in rape callous attitudes over the four years of college; whereas all women evidenced a decline in both rape callous and male dominant attitudes during the same time. Implications for research and practice are discussed. ^

Subject Area

Recommended Citation

Carol Joyce Pamm,
"Effect of attitudes toward women and other attitudinal variables on the formation of rape callousness and sexual misconduct among African, European, and Asian-American college students at a prestigious northeastern university: A longitudinal study"
(January 1, 2001).
Dissertations available from ProQuest.
Paper AAI3015355.
http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3015355